A wealthy American, Mrs. Van Stuyvesant, enrolling her son Marvin for the new term, turns out to be a Sunday newspaper reporter, investigating corruption in phony private schools. Jim endeavours to prevent the story from being published.

Unable to produce Pettigrew’s back-pay enabling him to visit his elderly aunt in Australia, Edwards offers to bring her to England instead. The plan is to encourage the BBC to feature his assistant as the subject on This Is Your Life. A fictitious Pettigrew story is concocted, highlighting daring sea rescues and heroic action with the Indian army.

The masters have to take on all the domestic duties following matron’s departure. When Mr. Lumley sees the appalling condition of his son, he insists that a replacement be found. His choice is a dictatorial battleaxe, so Jim dreams up a bogus illness to force her resignation.

When the cash box from a £500 laundry robbery is found in the school grounds, Prof. Edwards suspects Lumley and Taplow, and the boys suspect their Headmaster. Then the real burglars return…

Mr. Lumley wants to see his son achieving something, so Jim decides A. J. Lumley should win a boxing championship. The boy is initially reluctant, until he falls in love with Deirdre at mixed ballroom dancing classes.

With his flogging arm in a sling after a football ‘accident’, the Headmaster is at the mercy of schoolboy pranks. That is, until he introduces a caning machine, dubbed the ‘TERRA’. Is Chiselbury about to enter a ‘golden age of obedience’?

An old boy has left £100 to be awarded to the most popular school personality, as decided by ballot. Jim is determined to win, so he organises a publicity stunt. Our hero will overpower a maniacal Pettigrew, who is threatening to blow up the school.